


This Faltering Conviction

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: 30 Days of Whump-Cherik Edition [5]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: 30 Day Whump Prompt Challenge, Boys In Love, Cerebro, Don't copy to another site, Fainting, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Protective Erik Lehnsherr, X-Men: First Class (2011)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 17:30:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19817104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: Charles faints while using Cerebro, Erik isn't used to caring about someone this much.Day Five: Fainting





	This Faltering Conviction

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to see the prompt list, check out the link in the first story!
> 
> Day Five: Fainting

Erik tensed the moment he stepped into the machine Hank called Cerebro. It was smaller than he expected and had the distinct look of a laboratory experiment gone wrong. He would know. The white walls of the sphere were plain and didn’t draw his attention for long, no that honor went to the monstrosity poised in the center.

The helmet dangling from the ceiling looked like a torture device. It was all harsh metal and spilling wires that felt unfriendly even to him. Erik couldn’t help the way his powers drifted up and around the metal walls, over the control panel, and that damned helmet with a barely contained urge to tear it apart.

 _Calm Erik, its alright_.

Charles wasn’t looking at him, seemingly fascinated by it all as Hank nervously explained. The excitement lighting up his face was unsettling, and Erik found himself wanting to grab Charles and whisk him far away from here.

Judging by the expression on Raven’s face, he wasn’t the only one.

Charles stepped up onto the platform, eager hands reaching up to lower the helmet onto his head and Erik couldn’t help but comment, needed him to understand that this wasn’t some game or even carefully controlled lab test, “what an adorable little lab rat you make Charles.”

It only earned him a look, “don’t ruin this for me Erik.”

_I’m trying to keep it from ruining you._

_I’ll be fine. We need this._

Erik clenched his jaw against the truth of that statement. They needed mutants to defeat Shaw and they wouldn’t be able to find them without Charles and this machine. That didn’t change the fact that every inch of Erik was crawling with a disturbing sense of fear.

It would be easy to pass it off as bad memories resurfacing, not wanting anyone to go through the same agony he did as a child. Erik knew better. It was Charles that was leaving his stomach twisting sickly and his knees weak.

He’d known the man for barely a week and already he’d allowed Charles to convince him to stay, when he was anything but a team player. Already he’d managed to invade Erik’s dreams and leave behind red-hot desire. Already he’d snared Erik so completely that he wasn’t entirely sure Charles wasn’t controlling him.

The worse part was that Charles seemed horribly aware of it all, if the soft look he was giving him right now was any indication. _I’ll be alright Erik, deep breaths._

He crossed his arms and glared.

Hank began turning on switches.

Erik watched Charles closely, prepared at the first sign of pain to rip the device from his head. There was a moment of nothing, no reaction, then Charles grimaced, eyes going distant. Erik tensed, there was a soft gasp.

“Charles?” he murmured.

Another gasp louder this time and the helmet lit up, Charles’s hands flying out to grip the railing and Erik swore he could feel the wave of energy that permeated from him. It was that very projection that made Erik pause, because it was also coloured in pure, unadulterated joy.

“Its working!” Hank declared.

Raven smiled.

Charles laughed, strained but carefree.

Erik looked at where his hands had a knuckle white grip. This didn’t feel right. He stepped forward, ignoring the sound of the machine scribbling away at coordinates, and tried to get Charles to look at him, but he was far away.

“Turn it off.”

“What?” Hank looked up, startled.

“I said turn it off.”

“But we’ve only just-”

“Erik?” Raven’s gaze was flicking between him and Charles.

“We have enough for now,” Erik said tightly. “Turn it off.”

There was another small gasp and all heads swiveled to look at Charles, who swayed for a moment and just as suddenly tumbled to the ground, effectively dislodging the helmet. Erik swore he felt his heart stop at the same time Raven let out a scream of her brother’s name.

He heard Hank quickly turning off the machine, but he had eyes only for Charles. He was behind the railing and pulling Charles’s limp form into his lap in one smooth move. He was pale, a thin sheen of sweat coating his face, though neither of those were as disturbing as the sight of blood dripping from his nose.

“Help me sit him up,” he demanded.

Raven was already reaching forward to cradle his head and offer support as they moved him into a sitting position, “Charles,” she said. “Hey, talk to us, Charles please.”

For a moment nothing happened, and Erik had just begun contemplating murdering Hank, who was stood a few feet away with wide horrified eyes, when his eyes flickered open revealing sparkling blue.

_I’m ok. Sorry to have frightened you all._

The words echoed through all of their heads and Raven was lunging forward to wrap Charles in her arms while Hank began stuttering out apologies and it took all of Erik’s self-control not to drag him back into his own arms.

“You aren’t alright,” he said instead, silencing the babble of voices. “You’re bleeding and we aren’t doing any more experiments with your brain.”

Charles was already shaking his head, “I really am fine. Honestly, nose bleeds are unfortunately quite common with my ability and I think if we just turned down the intensity of Cerebro,” he glanced at Hank, who nodded quickly, eager to please. “We shouldn’t have anymore problems like this.”

Erik nearly growled in frustration. It wasn’t worth the risk.

That realization made him pause. Wasn’t that the whole point he’d agreed to only minutes ago? That to defeat Shaw it was certainly worth the risk? He’d quite suddenly changed him mind once he saw Charles crumple to the ground in a way of another body that still haunted his dreams.

“Erik’s right.”

He looked up sharply at the sound of Raven’s voice. She was looking at her brother with a stern gaze which Charles returned with his own dismay, “you aren’t trying again today. We’ll figure out what the results say and how to adjust it and you can try again tomorrow.”

Charles slumped. It was an obvious agreement.

Erik shot her a smile, grateful.

It was strange, being so concerned about someone else’s welfare and even stranger to find himself sitting on this floor and feeling connected to a small group of people in a way that was reminiscent of a family. It wasn’t altogether pleasant, but it wasn’t altogether terrible either.


End file.
